---
title: 輪迴 Rebirth
description: "Unsatisfied desire for existence and sensual pleasures is the cause of rebirth."
---

Rebirth

輪迴

Unsatisfied desire for existence and sensual pleasures is the cause of rebirth.

感官的不滿足是造成輪迴的最大原因。

Buddhists regard the doctrine of rebirth not as a mere theory but as a verifiable fact. The belief in rebirth forms a fundamental tenet of Buddhism. However, the belief in rebirth is not confined to Buddhist; it is also found in other countries, in other religions, and even among free thinkers. Pythagoras could remember his previous birth. Plato could remember a number of his previous lives. According to Plato, man can be reborn only up to ten times. Plato also believed in the possibility of rebirth in the animal kingdom. Among the ancient people in Egypt and China, a common belief was that only well-known personalities like emperors and kings have rebirths. A well-known Christian authority named Origen, who lived in 185-254 A. D., believed in rebirth. According to him, there is no eternal suffering in a hell. Gorana Bruno, who lived in the sixteenth century, believed that the soul of every man and animal transmigrates from one being to another. In 1788, a well-known philosopher, Kant, criticized eternal punishment. Kant also believed in the possibility of rebirth in other celestial bodies. Schopenhauer(1788-1860), another great philosopher, said that where the will to live existed there must be of necessity life. The will to live manifests itself successively in ever new forms. The Buddha explained this 'will to exist' as the craving for existence.

輪回對佛教來說，不僅是理論而且還是可證實的事實。信仰輪迴成為佛教的基本教義。然而輪迴的信仰不僅存在于佛教，在其它國度、其它宗教里，甚至以下自由的思想家里，都有信仰輪迴的人。希臘的畢達哥拉斯(Pythagoras)能記得起他的前世，柏拉圖(Plato)也能記起他好幾個前世，柏拉圖相信人能輪迴十世。同時也會輪回到畜生界里。在古代的中國和挨及，一般都相信貴族和帝王能轉世輪迴。一名基督教權威奧里根(Orgen, 185-254)也相信輪迴，他認為沒有永遠受苦的地獄。十六世紀的意大利哲學家果拉那.布魯諾(Gorana Bruno)，相信每一個人或畜生的靈魂都是由另一個眾生的轉世。在一七八八年著名的哲學家康德，批評了「永 久 的 懲 罰 」， 康 德 也 相 信 輪 回 于 其 他 天 國 的 可 能 性 。 另 一 位 哲 學 家 叔 本 華(Schopenhauer, 1788-1860)認為：「只要有生存的意志，就必然有生命，就是生存的意識令生命得以持續運轉。」佛陀詮釋這種「生存意志」為：對「生」的「執著」。

It is possible but not very easy for us to actually verify our past lives. The nature of mind is such that it does not allow most people the recollection of their previous lives. Our minds are overpowered by the five hindrances: sensual desire, ill-will, sloth, restlessness and doubt. Because of these hindrances, our vision is earth-bound and hence we cannot visualize rebirths. Just as a mirror does not reflect an image when it is covered with dirt, so the mind does not allow most people the recollection of previous lives. We cannot see the stars during daytime, not because they are not there in the sky, but because they are outshone by the sunlight. Similarly, we cannot remember our past lives because our mind at present is always over-burdened with many thoughts in the present, day-to-day events and mundane circumstances.

要實際驗證我們的過去世，是可能的，但並不容易。心的本質的轉變，使大多數人無法記憶起他們的往世。我們的心被貪、嗔、癡、慢、疑五種障礙所左右，因為有這些障礙的存在，我們的「識」受了限制，因此無法識別往世。這有如一面鏡子被灰塵蒙蔽，照不出影像一樣。因此大多數的人不能回憶前世。白天，我們看不見星星，並不是星星不存在，而是太陽的光比它們還要強烈。同樣的，我們無法回憶起我們的往世，是因為我們現在的「心」一直負荷過重，我們對每天遇到諸多的事故，生起了種種的思慮，因此，導致「心」的真性被蒙蔽了。

A consideration of the shortness of our life-span on earth will help us to reflect on rebirth. If we consider life and its ultimate meaning and goal, and all the varied experience possible for man, we must conclude that in a single life there is not enough time for man to carry out all that is intended by nature, to say nothing about what man himself desires to do. The scale of experience is enormous. There is a vast range of powers latent in man which we see and can even develop if the opportunity is presented to us. This especially true today if special investigation is made. We find ourselves with high aspirations but with no time to attain them. Meanwhile, the great troop of passions and desires, selfish motives and ambitions, make war within us and with others. These forces pursue each other to the time of our death. All these forces must be tried, conquered, subdued and used. One life is just not enough for all this. To say that we must have but one life here with such possibilities put before us and impossible to develop is to make the universe and life a huge and cruel joke.

思考于「我們在世間的壽命是短暫的」，將有助于我們培養正確的輪迴觀。如果我們考慮到生命的究竟意義和目標以及各種各樣的人生經驗時，我們就能推斷在「人」的短短一生中，實在是沒有足夠的時間去實現他所想要做的事。經驗層次的范圍非常大，只要因緣成熟，人體所擁有的巨大潛能就可以獲得充分的發揮。知識是無限的，並以各種形態出現在我們眼前，特別是今日，我們只要稍加觀察，我們都會發現我們自己擁有高度的抱負，但是沒有時間去實現。同時，有一大堆激情、欲望、自私的動機和野心一直在我們的內心中交戰，或與他人交戰，這種力量必須去嘗試、去征服、去壓制和去利用。一次的生命，不夠力量來達到我們的理想，如果說我們只擁有一次的生命，又要用它來完成這麼多的事，那完全是不可能的。這無疑是開宇宙和生命的一個巨大而殘忍的玩笑。

The Buddha doctrine of rebirth should be differentiated from the teachings of transmigration and reincarnation of other religions. Buddhism denies the existence of a permanent, god-created soul or an unchanging entity that transmigrates from one life to another.

Just as relative identity is made possible by causal continuity without a Self or Soul, so death can issue in rebirth without a transmigrating Soul. In a single life, each thought-moment flashes in and out of being, giving rise to its successor with its perishing. Strictly speaking, this momentary rise and fall of every thought is a birth and death. Thus even in a single life we undergo countless births and deaths every second. But because the mental process continues with the support of a single physical body, we regard the mind-body continuum as constituting a single life.

佛教所闡述的輪迴學說，應該和其它的輪迴學說區分開來，佛教否定永恆的神創造存在的靈魂，也否定在無數的輪迴中，有一個不變的實體。 沒有「自我」或「靈魂」的存在，也由「因果」相對的不斷循環而獲得證實。因此，死亡後可以不通過「靈魂」的轉世而獲得重生。在生命中，每一個「念」都是生生滅滅的，嚴格的說，這種剎那間「念」的生滅，就是一種生死。因此，在我們一生中的每一秒鍾，都經歷了無數的生死。只因為一個肉體，在支撐著心理路程的延續， 因此，我們認為身和心的結合，就構成單獨存在的「生命」。

What we ordinarily mean by death is the cessation of the body's vital functions. When the physical body loses its vitality it can no longer support the current of consciousness, the mental side of the process. But as long as there is a clinging to life, a desire to go on existing, the current of consciousness does not come to a stop with the body's loss of life. Rather, when death takes place, when the body dies away, the mental current, driven by the thirst for more existence, will spring up again with the support of a new physical body, one which has just come into being through the meeting of sperm and egg. Thus, rebirth takes place immediately after death. The steam of memory may be interrupted and the sense of identity transferred to the new situation, but the entire accumulation of experience and disposition has been transmitted to the newborn being, and the cycle of becoming begins to revolve for still another term.

一般，我們以為「死亡」就是身體活動力停止作用。當身體失去了活力，它就不再支持意識的流動，可是，只要對生命有一點點執著，有一個想繼續生存的貪念，那麼，意識之流就不因為身體失去了活力而從此停頓。當死亡一發生，身體開始毀壞時，意識之流在渴望生存的驅使下，再度進入一個精子與卵子結合的生命體中，就這樣，當死亡後，重生的現象就即刻發生，記憶之流或許中斷了，感官意識也轉變成另一個新的形態，而本質經驗的累積卻轉入一個新的生命體中，生命的循環又找到一個新的起點。

For Buddhism, therefore, death does not spell either the entrance to eternal life or complete annihilation. It is, rather, the portal to a new rebirth which will be followed by more growth, decay, and then till another death.

因此佛教認為：「死亡既非永生，也並非絕滅。」新的生命開始後，接著是成長、衰老，然後又是另一個死亡。

At the last moment, no renewed physical functioning occurs in a dying man's mind. This is just like a motorist releasing the accelerator before stopping, so that no more pulling power is given to the engine. Similarly, no more material qualities of Kamma arise.

當意識死亡之時，生理功能也跟著死亡。這就好像汽車松開了油門，引擎得不到新的動力而終止運作。同樣的，業力的生起或運作是不依賴物質現象的。

Buddhists do not maintain that the present life is the only life between two eternities of misery and happiness; nor do they believe angels will carry them to heaven and leave them there for all eternity. They believe that this present life is only one of the indefinite numbers of states of being and that this earthly life is but one episode among many others. They believe that all beings will be reborn somewhere for a limited period of time as long as their good and bad Kamma remains in the subconscious mind in the form of mental energy. The interpretation of the subconscious mind in the Buddhist context should not be confused with that given by modern psychologists since the concepts are not exactly synonymous.

佛教不相信「生」是在幸與不幸這兩個永恆點之中。也不相信死後有所謂的天使接送到永恆的天堂或地獄。佛教相信「生」是無數世間生命輪迴中的一段小插曲。佛教相信只有業力留在「心的潛在意識」里。所有的眾生都將因為自己所造的善業或惡業，在某段時間，輪迴于某個生界。這里所提到的「心的潛在意識」，並不是現代心理學所提到的「潛意識」。

What is the cause of rebirth?

什麼是輪迴緣起的因？

The Buddha taught that ignorance produces desires. Unsatisfied desire is the cause of rebirth. When all unsatisfied desire is extinguished, then rebirth ceases. To stop rebirth is to extinguish all desires. To extinguish desire, it is necessary to destroy ignorance. When ignorance is destroyed, the worthlessness of every such rebirth, is perceived, as well as the paramount need to adopt a course of life by which the desire for such repeated births can be abolished.

佛陀說，輪回肇始于無明所緣起的欲望，欲望得不到滿足就造成輪迴，當所有的欲望都消失殆盡時，就不再輪迴了。因此，要了斷生死，必須先滌除欲望，要滌除欲望必須先消滅無明，當無明被消滅後，輪迴就因失去了翼護而失去價值，因此，也就沒有再「生」的需要了。

Ignorance also begets the illusive and illogical idea that there is only one existence for man, and the other illusion that this one life is followed by states of eternal pleasure or torment.

無明導致人類以為生命只有這一世的錯覺和不合理的觀念。另一種無明所導致的觀念，是以為死後將能得到永生或永滅。

The Buddha taught that ignorance can be dispelled and sorrow removed by realization of the Four Noble Truths, and not through any other source. To disperse all ignorance, one must persevere in the practice of an all-embracing altruism in conduct, intelligence and wisdom. One must also destroy all desire for the lower, personal pleasures and selfish desire.

佛陀說，只有四聖諦才能消除愚癡和「苦」，一個人要消除愚痴，必須以堅韌不拔的意志，學習一種包容性強的利他行法，在行為、學識和智慧要有同樣的精進，同時，要降伏各種層次的欲念──包括個人的欲樂和自私心。

How does rebirth take place?

When this physical body is no more capable of functioning, energies do not die with it, but continue to take some other shape or form, which we call another life. The kammic force manifesting itself in the form of a human being can also manifest itself in the form of an animal. This can happen if man has no chance to develop his positive kammic forces. This force, called craving, desire, volition, thirst to live, does not end with the non-functioning of the body but continues to manifest itself in another form, producing re-existence which is called rebirth.

輪迴是如何產生？當身體不再具有活動的能力時，「生命源」並不與他同時消失，他會繼續以另一種生命形態出現，業力可以使這生命形態轉化為人類或其他眾生。如果，一個人不全面的去發展業力，那麼輪迴就產生了。這種業力──包括貪、嗔、癡、慢、疑的存在，並不因為身體的死亡而消失，它們繼續以不同的形態而重生，這就是輪迴。

Today, there are people in various countries who have spontaneously developed memory of their past births. The experiences of these people have been well-documented in newspapers and periodicals. Some of these people never accepted that there was such a thing as rebirth until memory fragments of their previous lives came to them. Much of the information they revealed about their past lives has been investigated and found to be valid.

今天，在很多國家里，不斷的傳出有人開發了前世的記憶，這些人的經驗被完整的記載于新聞或刊物中。這些人，有些是從來都不相信輪迴的，卻因記憶起前世的瑣碎、片斷的生活經歷而相信了輪迴學說。很多資料顯示，他們的回憶的確和過去世的經歷相符。

Through hypnotism, some people have managed to reveal information of previous lives. Certain hypnotic states that penetrate into the subconscious mind make the recalling of past lives possible.

通過催眠術也能獲得過去世的經驗，有些人能透過催眠而喚醒對前世的記憶。

Rebirth or becoming again and again is a natural occurrence not created by any particular religion or god. Belief in rebirth or disbelief does not make any difference to the process of rebirth or avoiding rebirth. Rebirth takes place as long as craving for existence and craving for sensual pleasures or attachment exist in the mind. Those strong mental forces prevail in each and every living being in this universe. Those who hope and pray that they be not born again must understand that their wishes will not materialize until they make earnest efforts to eradicate their craving and attachment. Having seen and experienced the uncertainty and unsatisfactoriness of life under worldly conditions, wise people try to rid themselves of these repeated births and deaths by following the correct path. Those who cannot reduce their craving and attachment must be prepared to face all unsatisfactory and uncertain situations associated with rebirth and becoming again and again.

輪迴是一種循環性的自然規律，它不屬于任何宗教的創造，因此，無論你信或不信有輪迴的存在，都同樣避免不了輪迴的發生。只要心中渴望于生存，渴望于感官的欲樂或任何對心靈的執著，輪迴就會發生，這種強烈的意志力，存在于宇宙間所有的生靈。如果冀求擺脫輪迴，就必須做到不攀緣、不執著。在世俗的條件下，曾經看過或經歷過不確定或不滿意的生存經驗後，聰明的人決定以正確的方法來排除輪迴，而那些不能減少自己的欲念或執著的人，就必須面對永無休止的生死輪迴。

Is Rebirth Simultaneous?

輪迴是否與生死並存？

Another difficult thing to understand about rebirth is whether the occurrence of rebirth is simultaneous or not. This is a controversial issue even amongst prominent Buddhist Scholars. According to Abhidhamma, rebirth (conception) takes place immediately after the death of a being without any intermediate state. At the same time, some others believe that a person, after his death, would evolve into a spirit form for a certain number of days before rebirth takes place. Another interpretation regarding the same belief is that it is not the spirit, but the deceased person's consciousness or mental energy remaining in space, supported by his own mental energies of craving and attachment. However, sooner or later rebirth must take place. The spirits (petas), who are beings born in spirit forms, are unfortunate living beings and their lives in the spirit form is not permanent. It is also a form of rebirth which is temporary.

Another concept that many people cannot understand is that in the process of rebirth a man can be reborn as an animal and an animal can be reborn as a man. The animal nature of the man's mind and the animal way of life adopted by him can condition him to be born as an animal. The condition and behavior of the mind is responsible for the next existence. On the other hand, a person who is born in animal form, owing to certain mental abuses during a previous birth, could be reborn as a human being, if that animal has not committed any serious evil acts. It is a well-known fact that some animals are very intelligent and understanding. This is a clear evidence to prove that they are tending towards the human life. A person who is born as an animal can again be born as a human being when the bad kamma which conditioned his birth as an animal is expended and the good kamma which was stored becomes dominant.

另一個難以理解的事，就是輪迴是否與生死並存？這是一個爭論性的問題，有些學者認為人死後，輪迴現象即刻發生，不需要任何中斷。而有些學者卻認為人死後，在重生前，以一種類似靈魂的形態存在一段時間。而另一種說法是，否認了靈魂的存在，認為人死後意識力或精神力繼續存在于自己的貪欲或執著的支持下。無論如何，輪迴是遲早要發生的事。轉世為鬼類(Petas)是最不幸的，它們的精神生命不能持久，在短暫的生命結束後，繼續輪迴。

另外一個很多人都不能理解的觀念是：一個人或許轉世為畜生，而畜生也可以轉世為人類，人固然不可能在其生理形態變成畜生，但是，人類心理形態擁有畜生的本質，也有些人采取了畜生的生活方式，就這樣，促使他轉世為畜生。「心」和「行」的因緣，必須為來世負責，有些人，可能由于前世對某種「心識」的濫用，而導致今世輪迴為畜生。而有些畜生因不造惡業而轉世為人。我們都知道，有些畜生非常聰明和善解人意，這點清楚的顯示它們傾向于人道的生命。

Dying Moment

臨死前的片刻：

In the dying man's consciousness, there are three types of consciousness (Vinnana) functioning at the moment of death :rebirth-linking consciousness (patisandhi-citta), the current of passive consciousness or the current of life-continuum (bhavanga) and consciousness disconnecting the present life (cuti-citta). At the last moment of a man's present life the (patisandhi-citta) or rebirth-linking consciousness arises, having the three signs as its objects. The patisandhi-citta remains in the course of cognition for five faint thought-moments Javana and then sinks down into bhavanga. At the end of bhavanga the cuti-citta arises, disconnecting the present life and sinks down into bhavanga. At this very moment comes the end of the present life. At the end of that bhavanga another patisandhi-citta rises up in the next life and from this very moment the new life begins. This is the process of death and rebirth according to Buddhism, and only in Buddhism is the process of these natural phenomena found explained in minute detail.

A Buddhist faces death not as a crisis in life but as a normal event, for he knows that whoever is born must suffer, 'decay', and ultimately die. Or, as someone so aptly puts it, 'Everyone is born with the certificate of death at his birth.' If we could all look at death such an intelligent and rational way, we would not cling to life so tenaciously.

'Ayamantima jatinatthidani punabbhavo"

This is my final birth and there is no more rebirth for me.(Dhamma Cakka Sutta).

在臨死前的片刻，有三種潛在的意識(Vi¤¤àõa)在作用──聯系于重生的意識、被動的意識和生命延續的意識。當意識與生命分離時，聯系于重生的意識開始生起，產生三種不同的信息。

一、聯系重生的意識逗留在「識」的過程中，產生五種細微的意念，然後沉沒于生命中，也就是這一世生命結束的時候。

二、生命分離的意識生起，它中斷了生命與意識，也就是在這一剎那間，結束了目前的生命。

三、在一個生命結束之際，另一個聯系于重生的意識生起于另一個生命之中，就在這一剎那，新的生命開始了。

這是佛陀所闡述的生死輪迴的過程，也只有在佛教里，才會對這種自然現象，做出如此詳細的詮釋。

佛教徒面對死亡時，不認為是生命的危機，反而當作是一件正常的事，因為，他們知到有「生」必有「苦」、衰老乃至最後的死亡。有些人形容的很恰當：「每個人一出世，就擁有死亡證明。」倘若，我們對死亡的看法如此理性及明智，我們就不會攀緣和執著于生命了。

佛陀說：「這是我的最後一生，我不再輪迴了。」《轉法輪經》